The Creative Future of Program Management: From Organization to Innovation
To kick off this newsletter, I wrote this article for the Harvard Alumni Entrepreneur's "Thought Leadership Writing Incubator." It won 3rd prize in the final writing competition. :)
There’s a secret frustration I face as a program management professional: too much time spent on logistics and not enough on the creative work that drives real progress.
As programs have so many fires to put out, the time for deep creative thinking is inherently limited. Further, innovative contributions are not as easily seen and valued by executive leadership compared to a perfect project plan or on-time deliverables. Yet, I predict that the days are numbered for this era of organization. The explosion of team management applications and the rise of artificial intelligence (AI) is set to automate most “checkbox” tasks within the next decade.
The value of a strong program management professional (PgMP) will become very human: the original thinking needed to bring novel products and services together into creative solutions against intractable problems. The PgMP of the future will need to tap into their internal creative resources at greater depth and frequency than currently demanded. They also must be ready to foster those creative skills in others. This next era in program management will not be a subtle one, and it’s the core topic for this new Substack: “The Innovative Program.”
Where do we already innovate in program management?
Creativity and ingenuity already shine in many aspects of program management. Here are three key areas where innovation takes center stage.
Designing the initial program: If you are fortunate enough to be part of the original program design team, this is a prime spot where your ingenuity matters. The program’s overarching mission is defined at this stage, but how to get there is an uncertain void waiting to be discovered. If you have prior expertise in the industry, you’ll have this wonderful moment to apply your knowledge in forming an initial tactical concept and pilot test for the program. If you are new to the industry, you’ll be challenged to conduct excellent background research and expert interviews to draft the initial design. Regardless, you have a blank canvas for creating a new program. It’s a wicked challenge, but deliciously cool for a creative, curious mind.
Curating across projects: In a program’s development lifecycle, the ultimate compilation of products and services is tested and honed across many projects. The decisions made in between these projects are where a PgMP’s innovative resources are often needed the most. For example, I run a local chapter of an alumni women’s group. The Chapter restarted in 2020 and I work steadily to make it a professional, sustainable organization with set traditions and routines. While the word “program” is never included in the group’s name, I am - in truth - managing a program. Every event we hold is equivalent to a project and the most important part of my role as Chapter President is not to plan out each event – work completed by the Steering Committee members. It is to figure out what worked, what failed, and what’s needed next time. Holistically, when everything for the year is added up, it’s my job to ensure we achieve the organization’s mission: to strengthen women’s leadership and equity.
As PgMPs, we become the core person responsible for combining individual projects into a greater whole which takes skill, talent, expertise, and judgment. Altogether, curation is the apex of innovation and creative thinking in a PgMP's work.
Innovating the discipline of program management: Program management is ripe for new approaches. Beyond the forthcoming impact of AI, program management as a professional discipline lags behind its sister: project management. Over the last several decades, project management received massive attention and innovation as corporations invested in how to train their workforces to implement projects as effectively and efficiently as possible. The result was the rise of popular methodologies such as Lean Six Sigma, Agile, etc. which greatly elevated the entire field. While formal training for program management exists, it’s not nearly as common an offering within companies. Also, while program management jobs are abundant, I’ve found that the core traits are not common public knowledge, blurred with project management, and highly generalized. With AI instigating the change, PgMPs working today have a huge creative opportunity to take part in how our discipline evolves.
What’s next?
As PgMPs, program management is becoming a better job as the primary work shifts from organization to innovation. On the positive side, we’ll likely find more joy and fulfillment in our work as well as rack up reasons to earn higher wages and gain leadership opportunities. Yet as a portion of the work becomes automated, there’s a big challenge in the need to reskill and a high likelihood of fewer jobs in the field over time. Certainly, change is afoot and I look forward to exploring these developments with you through “The Innovative Program.” Please subscribe and share your thoughts. Join me!
